Family Reunion
by Torra Jhed
Summary: Gibbs thought that their case was closed. Seems like it's just starting up. Who's after Tony and his cousin, Carrie? What's Tony going to do now? Mild family moments as Gibbs plays Papa to his team. PM with questions or suggestions.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All NCIS characters and the world in which they live are owned by Bellisarius. Writer is just borrowing their world while the Writer's Strike leaves her with no new episodes. C'mon, Guys. Negotiate a contract already!!!**

The day had already dragged out far longer than any of the team would have liked and it wasn't over yet. They approached the hotel where Paul Stratton lived and took guard at the entrance before going to the second floor.

Tony's cellphone rang as they exited the car and Gibbs slapped him on the head. Tony silenced the phone and let the caller go to voice mail without looking at it. He could call whoever it was later on.

"You want to keep that thing quiet or should we just announce ourselves to the whole building?" Gibbs said.

Tracking down U.A. Sailors wasn't usually their task but when Petty Officer Brian Chatham turned up dead earlier that week, everything pointed them to Stratton, his alleged lover. Accounts of this were varied and many who knew Chatham aboard ship refused to believe that their shipmate was homosexual. His off duty activities, however, suggested otherwise and led them to Stratton. The discrepancies bothered Gibbs, as discrepancies usually did and something in his infamous gut was telling him that there was more than a clandestine relationship between two men in this case.

Cautiously, the team split up, Gibbs and McGee taking the front, Tony taking the rear exit and Ziva on the fire escape. A palpable quiet overtook the building as if the NCIS presence alone was enough to silence even the tiniest noise. Stratton left his room and took a few steps down the hallway before stopping to check a gun in his possession.

"Federal agents, NCIS, drop your weapon!" Gibbs ordered.

Stratton turned to see both exits were blocked and quickly lifted his hands and backed against the door nearest him. With one swift move, he managed to open the door and ran into the room. The team closed in and there was a shot fired. A woman screamed. Gibbs looked into the room and saw Stratton holding a gun to a pregnant woman's head. She was holding her stomach and there was blood flowing freely from a gunshot wound.

"Back off or I will blow her head off!" Stratton yelled out.

Gibbs waved DiNozzo and McGee off. "You have got no where to go, Stratton. Give yourself up and let the woman go. Let us get her medical attention before she dies."

"No," Stratton replied squeezing the woman's neck who cried out in response. "I swear to God, I will blow this bitch's brains all over the room if you don't back off!"

"All right, Stratton. We're backing off," Gibbs said.

"No," the woman called out pleading. "Don't leave! He'll kill me!"

"Shut up!" Stratton growled at the woman. "I'll kill her if you don't leave!"

DiNozzo got a puzzled look on his face. "Carrie?" he whispered.

Gibbs looked over to Tony and mouthed. 'You know her?' Tony nodded in response as he kept his gun ready to fire.

"All right, Stratton. Everyone's backing off, okay? The woman needs help and you don't want to have her and her baby's murder on your hands? She's just an innocent bystander. Let me come in and get her some help."

A sudden blood spray erupted from Stratton's head as he looked surprised by his own unexpected death. The man dropped and Ziva appeared in the window behind him, her pistol still aimed at the dead man as she stepped through the open window. His hostage slipped to the floor with him, pale from her blood loss and the situation she'd been unwillingly sucked into.

Ensuring that the man was indeed dead and not going to reach for his gun, Gibbs knelt next to the woman to render first aid until the paramedics arrived. She looked up at Gibbs and could only ask, "Why?"

"I dunno," he replied, truthfully as he applied pressure to the gunshot wound. "What's your name?"

"Carolyn," she answered in pain wracked breaths. "Carolyn..."

"Bensen, Boss," Tony finished for her as he walked in the room. Gibbs gave him his patented 'tell me how you are involved in this situation and why didn't you tell me before now' stare. "Carrie's my cousin, Boss."

"Tony? How in the hell..." Carrie began to ask as the paramedics arrived on the scene just after Ducky and Palmer. "You could have just returned my call, y'know."

Tony gave his cousin a grin. "You know me. Always like to make an appearance. What're you doing here, Chubs?"

"I'm sorry, but family reunion will have to wait," Ducky said, checking the woman's vitals, looking grave. "She needs to be off to the hospital."

Gibbs nodded to the paramedics as they lifted her onto a stretcher and pulled Ducky to the side. "She going to live, Duck?"

Ducky nodded. "Yes, she will," he replied. "Something puzzles me, however. He didn't shoot the mother. He aimed for the baby."

**Note: This is my first fanfiction, and not yet complete. Reviews and Constructive Criticisms welcomed. Flames aren't.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: As always, I do not own the NCIS characters or their world. **

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The bullpen was quiet, even with the entire team there. They were wrapping up their collective paperwork so that, for once, they could leave while the sun was still up. Gibbs stared at the screen saver on his computer while he contemplated the day.

'_Why shoot an unborn child in an apparently random hostage taking?' _He then pushed his chair away from his desk and headed for the elevator, in his usual abrupt and silent manner.

Abby bounced between her 'babies', waiting for one of them to give her some information. "C'mon, Guys, I know it's Friday but I need something to show to Gibbs when he gets here and you know he's coming because this is the..."

"What do you have for me, Abby?" Gibbs asked walking in.

"Not much, yet," she answered, moving over to her lab table and pulling different evidence bags to one side. "I was able to pull Stratton's prints from the hotel key card and the gun. There was a second print that I was able to identify as Chatham's on the card. Bullets fired from the gun did not match the slug found in Chatham's body, so it's not the same gun."

Gibbs watched the 'No Match' flash at him from the screen. "Thanks, Abs. I'll be back later."

"Undoubtedly," Abby said as she watched Gibbs leave and then went back to her work.

Gibbs next visited Ducky in autopsy, where the elder gentleman had just taken possession of the small body bag delivered from the hospital. "Dear, oh dear," Ducky mumbled. "It's always the innocent ones that are the hardest to deal with."

"Hey, Ducky," Gibbs said walking in.

"Jethro, you're about two and a half hours too early," Ducky said, moving to the far side of the autopsy table. "The little fellow only just got here. The world was far too cruel to a little fellow who hadn't even impacted it with the joy of his first cries yet."

"Why does a man aim to kill an unborn child like this?" Gibbs asked aloud. "Why shoot the child and _then_ take the mother hostage? It doesn't make any damn sense."

"Indeed," Ducky mused. "Almost as if he planned to kill someone and in this instance, that someone happened to be an unborn child. Even if by some miracle, the bullet hadn't hit the baby, the likelihood of him surviving would have been very slim. Underdeveloped internal organs and the trauma of a premature birth... well, it would have been difficult to say the least."

Gibbs looked very agitated by what Ducky was saying. He called back to Ducky as he left. "That's it. He wanted to kill the baby before it had the chance to be a someone. Have Abby do some DNA testing of the baby against Stratton."

Ducky looked down at his small charge. "Not all grown ups are so abrupt, but Jethro is one of a kind. Well, let's get to it then."

Ziva gazed over to Tony, who was listening to his voice mail for the fiftieth time since their return. He hadn't even bothered to crack jokes when she made one of her usual blunders of English colloquialisms.

"Hey, Tony," Carrie's cheerful voice rang through the ear piece of his cellphone. "I know I'm probably the last person you expected to hear from but I'm in the area and have a ton of news to catch you up on. I'm staying at the Cozy Inn in Alexandria. I know you are working, so call me back when you have a break. Maybe we can grab dinner together soon. You can reach me on my new cell at 215 555 0788. I really miss you, Buzz."

Every time Tony listened to the message, it made the bile rise in his throat. It was the call he didn't take. The one he should have.

Taking a hint from Tony's book of getting someone's attention, Ziva tossed a rumpled ball of paper at him, beaning him atop the head. He looked up and she motioned her head ever so slightly toward the elevator; a Gibbs trick they'd all begun to utilize. She would have followed him into the bathroom had he gone in the last few hours.

As soon as they were in the elevator, Ziva flipped the stop button stopping the elevator and dimming the lights. "I just wanted to know if you are all right. Or if you wanted me to take the rest of your paperwork so you can get out of here."

"I thought you said you were never going to cover for me leaving early again?" Tony asked looking directly at her.

"I meant so that you could go and meet a woman," Ziva replied, leaning against the elevator wall. "This is different. It's..."

"...family," Tony finished for her. "I appreciate it, Ziva, but Gibbs would slap me into the middle of next week if I left early."

"You got that right, DiNozzo," Gibbs' voice came over the internal speaker of the elevator. "Now would you mind starting back up and coming down to autopsy?"

"Be right down, Boss," Tony said, flipping the switch to its running position.

"So are you going to tell me what was on the voice mail that's been pissing on you all day?" Ziva asked.

"Pissing me off, Ziva. And no, I'm not. It's personal," Tony said, as the elevator door opened and Gibbs stepped in.

The elevator was silent as they returned to the bullpen. As the door opened, Gibbs went to his desk and picked up his gear. "Ziva, McGee, you're with me. McGee, gas the truck," he said tossing the keys to Tim. "DiNozzo, hospital for security as a precaution."

The team began to move without question or hesitation, Tony being the first to leave.

"Boss," Tim began, "We went over every square inch of Stratton's room, even the air ducts."

"I know," Gibbs said. "We're not going to his room. We're canvasing hers."

**

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****Writer's Note: Again, comments and constructive criticisms are welcomed. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: As always, I do not own the NCIS characters or their world. I managed to get this third chapter done in the same day as the second. Enjoy!**

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The room was still taped off when Gibbs, McGee and Ziva arrived at the hotel and began their search.

"What exactly are we looking for, Boss?" Tim asked, looking around the room.

"What we usually look for at a crime scene, McGee," Gibbs replied. "Evidence of a crime."

"Uh, right, Boss," Tim said, uncertain as to what evidence he needed from the room that hadn't already been gathered.

Meticulously, the three agents searched the room carefully, tossing the mattress and closet for anything unusual. Finally, Ziva opened the lone suitcase, still sitting in the room. It was loaded with the usual items one would expect while traveling: clothes, shoes, toiletries.

"Ug," Ziva commented, pulling out a pair of brief panties. "My grandmother wears sexier underwear."

"Not your style, Officer David?" Gibbs asked with a wry grin.

"Nope," she answered, tossing the underwear aside. "I prefer to be unrestricted."

There was a clatter from Tim knocking over a glass and it hitting the floor.

"McGee," Gibbs said, smacking Tim on the back of the head. "Do you want to not destroy the place?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry about that, Boss," Tim said bending down to pick up the glass. He happened to look under the dresser at that moment. "Boss, I think I found something.

Tony really hated hospitals, now more than ever. Every smell reminded him of Jeanne and how much pain from losing her he still had. There was nothing to be done about it, however. She was gone and he'd made his choice. He peeked into Carrie's room and smiled as she looked up.

"Hey, Chubs," he greeted her. She looked pale and small to him. Of course, she was a small woman to start with, barely breaking the five foot mark in height. He motioned toward all of the machines she was hooked to. "What're you doing with all this stuff; tracking the space shuttle?"

He picked up the button for the pain pump and spoke into it. "Houston, we have liftoff."

Carrie laughed as much as she could manage without much pain. "Hi, Buzz. It's good to see you, especially without a gun pointed at my head."

"What are you doing here?" Tony asked, waving his cellphone. "I got your message in the patented Carrie DiNozzo 'Something is wrong but I'm going to be super cheerful to cover it up' voice."

"I left Sam," Carrie said. "I filed for divorce and left. I know that the church doesn't..."

"Screw the church," Tony replied, holding up her bruise covered arm. "How long has be been beating on you?"

"He was always a very jealous man, Tony..." Carrie began. "But he was getting worse and worse."

"How long, Carolyn?" Tony asked harshly.

"Since I found out that I was pregnant," she said, looking away. "I thought he'd be really happy, y'know. We've been married five years and I thought we were happy. Then he started with the suspicions and the accusations and he said the baby isn't his. It was Petey's or yours. All that sort of sick stuff. Then I found out he was the one running around."

Tony shifted uncomfortably in his chair, half wanting to kill the man that had beat on one of the few members of his actual family that he still spoke to. "You have a fifteen million dollar trust so why were you holing up in a cheap hotel? Why not take a suite in a better place or get a hold of me before you left?"

Carrie shrugged. "Until he is served with the divorce papers, I thought it'd be a better idea to stay off Sam's radar and you know that he doesn't think there's anything in the world less than a five star hotel. Besides, I didn't want to make your life any more complicated. I just wanted to visit with my best friend and keep in touch."

"You wouldn't have made my life any more complicated, Chubs," Tony said with a smile. "I can do that all by myself. You can stay at my place after the doctor releases you."

"Sweet, Tony, but unnecessary," she replied. "I noticed you didn't ask if I had been screwing around."

"I didn't need to," he said. "I know you better than that."

"I don't," Gibbs said at the doorway. "So, were you?"

"No, I never did. Infidelity is a sin," Carrie said. "The church is clear on that."

"So is murder," Gibbs said, staring at the woman.

"Boss, what..." Tony jumped in defensively.

"Shut up, DiNozzo," he said, evenly. "Own a gun, Mrs. Bensen?"

"No, I don't," Carrie answered, eyeing Gibbs carefully. "What's this all about anyway? I only just got into Dulles this morning."

"Why didn't you run for cover when you heard the door to your room open?" Gibbs pushed. "Surely you heard the commotion outside."

"I was surprised by it. I didn't expect anyone to open the door at all," she replied, the heart monitor showing a marked increase in her blood pressure and heart rate.

"Were you surprised by the door opening or did you not expect Stratton to shoot you?!" Gibbs demanded, his voice rising.

Carrie looked at Tony, bewildered and her heart rate jumped.

"Boss," Tony began.

"Shut UP, DiNozzo," Gibbs barked. "Answer me, Mrs. Bensen."

"I didn't expect the door to open," Carrie answered, becoming short of breath and crying. "I left my husband. I didn't come here to be shot, or lose my baby or to be asked a bunch of questions like I'm some kind of criminal! Get out!"

"I'll leave when I'm ready," Gibbs said, backing away slightly.

"Get out or get my lawyer!" Carrie yelled, using her good arm to toss a plastic water pitcher past his head, which he bent down to pick up.

Hearing the distress of their patient, the doctor and nursing staff came into the room and ushered the agents out in order to sedate their patient.

"This interrogation is over!" the doctor said, closing the curtain around Carrie.

In the hall, Tony was fairly shaking with anger over the treatment of his cousin. "Boss, why are you interrogating her? Coincidences do occasionally happen."

"Is that what you think it is, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, cocking his eyebrow. "A coincidence?"

"No," Tony admitted.

"Good, because we found a gun in her room," he said, holding up the plastic water pitcher. "If this is too close to home for you, tell me now. Until we can figure out how this is connected to our dead sailor, Mrs. Bensen remains under protective custody."

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**Again, please review, comment, or criticize contstructively. Thanks.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: All NCIS characters and the world in which they live are owned by Belisarius. Writer is just borrowing their world to play in.

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**Abby was bouncing with a sugar high when Gibbs entered the lab with McGee. 

"What do you have for me, Abs?" Gibbs asked, popping another Caf-Pow onto her desk. Silently, he thought that maybe he shouldn't have brought it but he needed to either confirm that Carolyn Bensen was involved with his dead sailor killer or someone was going through an awful lot of trouble to make it look like she did.

"Well, the serial numbers on the gun found in Mrs. Bensen's room were partially filed off but I was able to raise most of them. I have the partial running through state registration databases. No hits yet but give it time."

"The gun is definitely the weapon that killed Petty Officer Chatham, though," Abby said. "The fingerprints from the water pitcher and the gun and loaded bullets are not a match. It may have been in her room, but she didn't touch it from a forensics standpoint."

"She could have wiped it down," Gibbs mused.

"Possibly except that I did match Stratton's prints to the gun, as well as having a second partial print from a second person. I'm working on that," Abby said.

"What about the DNA from the baby?" Gibbs asked, furrowing his brow at the screen on which Abby put all of her results.

"Well, I can tell you a couple of things. First, the baby is not Stratton's or Chatham's," Abby said. "Unlike the last time, I did this though, I can tell you she's definitely the mother."

McGee walked in with a file folder in hand. "Boss, I checked out Carrie... I mean Mrs. Bensen's story and it checks out in a roundabout way. She flew from JKF to Pittsburgh, spent the night and from there, she drove to Cleveland, Ohio and then flew into Dulles this morning. Cellphone records indicate three calls to Peter DiNozzo in Mars after she landed in Pittsburgh, two calls to a financial firm in New York and a call to a birthing clinic. Paperwork from her rental car at the hotel here show some financial documents: bank statements, stock holdings, etcetera and a petition for divorce filed in New York and a temporary PFA against Samuel Bensen. She's clean, Boss."

The serial number registered a New York match and blinked a notification. Samuel Bensen's name came on the screen and the red flag 'Stolen' flashed alongside.

"I'll make a call to the police in New York and find out the story, Boss," McGee said, leaving quickly.

"Thanks, Abs," Gibbs said as he followed McGee out and tapped the folder. "McGee, find out if where he is."

Ziva was sitting her shift at the hospital with Carrie in relative quiet. Whenever Carrie wasn't sleeping or walking the halls for exercise, they talked a little to pass the time. Ziva learned much about Tony through talking to his cousin about their carefree childhoods, his mother's eccentricities and his father's neglect.

For now, however, Carrie was sleeping and the quiet was starting to make Ziva drowsy. It might have appeared that she was actually asleep to most people except for the fact that her hand was resting on her gun holster, the only outward clue to her vigilance. Tony walked in without worry as he knew that trying to sneak up on Ziva was not only dangerous but somewhat close to suicidal.

He dropped a pizza box on the bedside table and opened it allowing the aroma to hit Ziva's nose. "Oh ho ho," he said tossing her a paper plate. "It's DiNozzo with a lunchtime save. Your favorite, Italian sausage, jalapeños and pineapple, which I must say, Officer David, is a little demented."

He wagged a finger at his cousin. "Nothing for you until the doctor clears you for better food, Young Lady."

"We're the same age, Buzz," Carrie replied with a grin.

"Are not. I have the benefit of six weeks of maturity on you," Tony said.

"You gotta be kidding me. You still eat Capt'n Crunch for at least one meal a day," his cousin teased.

"Your point?" Tony said looking as if there was nothing at all less than sophisticated with his choice of breakfast foods.

"Why do you call him 'Buzz'?" Ziva asked after swallowing a bite of pizza.

"It's a nickname, Ziva," Tony said, his ears reddening. "From a long time ago and no one else still calls me that."

"Liar," Carrie interrupted.

"You're ruining my reputation, Chubs," Tony said giving her a stare.

"You've been a liar before, Tony. That's not exactly top secret," Ziva said. "So then why do you call her 'Chubs'? Doesn't that mean someone fat?"

"Usually, except for her it's kind of like the same thing as calling a bald man Curly," Tony said. "She was a really skinny little kid."

"I was not that skinny," Carrie argued.

"Grandma's chihuahua weighed more than you," Tony retorted. His cellphone rang and interrupted their banter as he held up a finger to quiet them. "Yeah, Boss? Um, at the hospital getting ready to relieve Ziva... yeah. Okay, then."

"Is there something?" Ziva asked.

"Yeah," Tony said, moving Carrie's fresh water pitcher to the other side of the room. "Just wanted to make sure you were unarmed, as it were since he'll be here..."

"I am here," Gibbs said, motioning for his two agents to leave the room. "Step out."

Tony stayed planted where he was. He wasn't keen on leaving his cousin alone to Gibbs' interrogation methods again.

"Something wrong with your hearing, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked. "I said 'Step out'."

Carrie gave Tony a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Buzz. You're on duty. Take the pizza with you. The smell's making me nauseous."

Tony roughly grabbed the box and left, closing the door behind him.

"Mrs. Bensen, you said you don't own a gun but you failed to mention that your husband does, or rather did," Gibbs said, setting down the case folder.

"You asked me if I owned a gun. I answered truthfully. I don't. I've never even touched a gun," Carrie said. "Sam owns many."

"Did you know he reported one stolen?" Gibbs asked, keeping his voice even.

"No," she answered. "I can't imagine how one was stolen and not the others. He keeps them all in the same gun safe."

"So how is it that his 'stolen' gun got into your room, even though you never touched it yet the man who shot you did?" Gibbs was staring the woman down.

"I don't know, Agent Gibbs," Carrie ran a hand through her hair and kept her brown eyes steady with Gibbs' blue as he continued to stare at her for a long minute. "You've made up your mind that I'm guilty of something, so arrest me and get my lawyer. I don't know HOW this has happened and I don't know why. I know that I have done nothing wrong. I've always tried to do the right thing. Just stop staring at me like that, Sam... Agent Gibbs. It's... disconcerting."

"Is that what it is?" Gibbs asked. "I've been divorced many times but I never thought staring was the reason."

"It's not that..." Carrie said. "It's the smack in the face that follows that's the problem."

"Yet, you sent the one person that you know would protect you out of the room," Gibbs said, sitting back in his chair. "Why?"

"I don't see how that's important to you, Agent Gibbs," Carrie replied. "So are you arresting me or what?"

"Did you kill Petty Officer Chatham?" Gibbs asked. "The bullets fired from your husband's stolen gun match the one that killed my Petty Officer." Carrie paled considerably and Gibbs jumped on the woman's recognition of the name. "How did you know Petty Officer Chatham, Mrs. Bensen?"

"That's the last name of the woman my husband was seeing. I saw the name on his caller ID," Carrie said.

"So, did you kill..." Gibbs began, starting his digging in method of confession extraction.

The fire alarm sounded in the corridor and Tony broke the standing 'do not interrupt an interrogation' rule. "Boss, someone just called in a bomb threat. They're evacuating the building."

"Well, go get us a wheelch..." Gibbs started as Tony brought in a wheelchair.

"I wasn't going to let her walk," Tony retorted.

Gibbs smacked Tony in the back of the head for being a wise ass. Not what he needed today. By the time he'd turned back around, Carrie unhooked her IV, put on her robe and was already at the door.

"You two coming?" Carrie asked. "The place will have blown up before you two quit bickering like a pair of old ladies fighting over a slot machine in Vegas."

Gibbs gave an involuntary half grin as she pushed past the door. "Let's go."

"Have a seat and let's get out of here, Chubs," Tony said. "I'll drive safely, Scouts' Honor."

"I can walk, you know," she said, not looking the least like she wanted to sit in a wheelchair.

"You're slow and still under protective custody. Sit," Gibbs said, expecting that she'd not need to be told again.

"Fine," Carrie grumbled sitting in the wretched chair. Before she could protest, Gibbs had managed to attach a handcuff to her and the arm of the chair.

"Just for safe keeping," he said as they made their way to the elevator.

Outside, staff were gathering at a safe distance from the building with ambulatory patients and ambulances were standing ready to take intensive care patients to other hospitals. The police and bomb squad were already present, ready to sweep the hospital for an explosive device. Within the throng of people pushing to get away from the hospital, a fedora pushed past the NCIS team brusquely.

"That was Sam!" Tony said releasing his grip on the wheelchair in order to give chase after the man through the crowd.

Gibbs followed after, drawing his pistol. "Ziva, take that side!" Gibbs ordered as they followed the fedora. Quickly, the hat began to move faster through the crowd, bobbing and weaving through and for the briefest of seconds disappearing before showing back up and continuing on its path.

With guns drawn, Gibbs shouted. "NCIS! Everyone down!" which got people yelling and ducking to avoid the guns being pointed. The crew surrounded the man in the fedora as he came through and looked surprised by the agents. He signed and Gibbs replaced his weapon.

"That's not him," Tony said sounding both surprised and angry. He knew he'd seen Sam in the crowd. It was then that he realized that they'd left Carrie alone, handcuffed to a wheelchair in the crowd. "Shit!" he cursed making his way back to where they'd left her. He found his cousin and the wheelchair lying sideways in a bush as some concerned citizens were attempting to right both it and her. "Sorry about that, Chubs."

**Author's Note: Sorry about this taking a couple of days. I faceplanted on some ice the other day and was in a lot of pain.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: NCIS and its characters are owned by Belisarius, Inc. and not me. I'm just playing in the sandbox.

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**It took the bomb squad nearly two hours to sweep the hospital and determine that the bomb threat was a hoax. Gibbs sent Ziva in with the disposal unit to attempt to find the bomb but to no avail. 

"It's not a surprise," Ziva said, returning to report. "Over ninety percent of bomb threats in the United States are hoaxes. The police are doing a secondary sweep but it appears that the building will be re-opened shortly."

True to her statement, staff and patients were permitted to return to the building within the hour. Gibbs sent Ziva back to the office to file her report on the bomb threat.

Carrie shut herself in the bathroom so that she could shower without a word to Tony or Gibbs.

Tony knocked on the door once he heard the water shut off. "You okay, Carrie?" he asked to utter silence. "Look, I said I was sorry about that but I bet the adrenalin rush was pretty..."

Gibbs smacked Tony in the back of the head. "Not helping, DiNozzo," he said. "We have a safe house ready for you Mrs. Bensen. You'll be protected."

Carrie stepped into the room wearing a robe and her wet, dark hair wrapped in a towel. "I've had enough of your 'safe keeping', Agent Gibbs," Carrie said sourly. "Let me guess, you have a gurney to strap me to and shove under a rhododendron? Thank you but no, I'll book a room on my own."

Gibbs leaned in close to the woman and growled, "It wasn't a request, Mrs. Bensen."

Carrie bore into him with her dark eyes. She really disliked her cousin's boss. For the moment, however, she chose to bide her time. "Unless you want an eyeful, I suggest you step out while I get dressed."

Gibbs pulled away and leaned back against the wall. "Go ahead. It's nothing I haven't seen before."

Tony stepped between Gibbs and Carrie, glowering at the elder agent. "We'll step out, **Boss**!" he declared, waiting for Gibbs to go first. Gibbs pushed off the wall with his shoulder and left without a word. Tony leaned into his cousin and whispered. "For God's sake, Carrie, don't push him too much. He can be intense."

"So can I, Tony. I might have forgotten that for a while but I'm remembering it now," Carrie said. She patted her cousin's hand. "Now, get out while I put some clothes on."

Tony stepped out and closed the door behind him. Gibbs gave him a hard stare. "You might want to cut those apron strings, DiNozzo," he said, purposely baiting his senior field agent. "Or at least learn how to call a bluff. I mean, she is a woman and a good looking one..."

"**Don't** go there, Gibbs," Tony said losing any facade of calm. "She's my cousin, not a woman."

"You do know how a woman gets pregnant, don't you, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, looking dead serious. "I mean, if you're so blinded to her adulthood perhaps we need to go over the basics."

Tony looked disgusted by the implication. "Now there's a visual I didn't need," Tony said. "I do, however, now need a drink, and I'm not talking sarsaparilla."

"Not while you're on duty," Gibbs replied. "You need to realize that just because she's your cousin and you can revert to a more juvenile attitude with her does not make her any less capable of lying than any other suspect we've dealt with."

"She's not lying. You don't know Carrie like I do, Boss," Tony said.

"Are you sure you still do, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked. "When was the last time you saw her? She sure as hell wasn't by your side when you were sick with Y. Pestis. Where was she when you were in jail being framed for murder? Where was the family solidarity from her then? From where I'm standing, the devotion seems to be a little one sided."

"Then find somewhere else to stand, Gibbs," Tony said, a swelling of red color rising beneath his collar, as if he were dangerously close to losing his temper. "I'm going to the head."

Watching the younger man walk away exactly as he'd wanted, Gibbs went back into Carrie's room where she looked up startled as she finished tucking her blouse into her skirt. He closed the distance very quickly and had her backed against a wall within seconds.

"Why did you contact Tony?" he asked, breathing into her ear.

"What difference does it make to you, Agent Gibbs? I have the right to contact whomever I choose," she snapped back.

"You're screwing with my agent, Carolyn Bensen. My agents are my family. I keep watch over them, and I don't like people screwing with them. Especially under the guise of family connections. Now why did you choose to get in touch with him? So he could rescue you from a shitty situation since you couldn't be an adult and take care of yourself? You thought he could get you out of a murder charge?" Gibbs was turning the screws now. She would break any second and tell him exactly what he wanted to hear. "Petty Officer Chatham. How did you kill him?"

"I didn't kill anyone!" Carolyn said, shaking. Her breathing was shallow and she was feeling panicked. "I will be damned if I was going to die without pushing to see my childhood friend one last time, even if he has told me not to. It was going to be one time, one last visit before my husband kills me."

"Lots of women get divorced. It doesn't mean their husbands are out to kill them," Gibbs said, continuing his dig.

"Lots of women don't find out their husband used to be a hit man, Agent Gibbs," Carrie shot back at him, her composure crumbled. "I don't want to leave this world with Tony thinking no one in the family cared about him."

"Why don't I believe you, Carolyn?" Gibbs asked. "You got some proof to back up this accusation?"

"Salvatore Benetti," Carrie snarled back, her whole body shaking from the confrontation. "He went into the witness protection program seven years ago. Look it up if you don't believe me, but quit calling me a murderer. I didn't do it. I'm pretty sure Sam did. Now if you don't mind backing off, you're stepping on my toe, Agent Gibbs."

"I'll check into what you said," Gibbs said. "We'll go through the specifics at the safe house."

"You do that," Carrie said, sitting on the bed resting her head in her hands. "Two minutes with you and I'm as tired as if I'd just run a marathon. You are such a bastard."

"Yep," Gibbs agreed. "Now that we've sorted that out, let's go. We have a long drive to get you to the safe house. I'll get you a wheelchair."

"Not again in this lifetime," Carrie said. "Tony might trust you but I think you're a whack-job waiting to snap."

"You're a quick learner," Gibbs said, motioning to the door. "Let's go."

They walked toward the elevator before Carrie stopped. "Damn, I forgot my purse. Not going too far without it. Give me a second."

She turned to head back to her room when smoke and shrapnel blew out of the doorway. Instinctively, Gibbs threw himself over his charge to protect her.

"You all right?" he asked as she nodded. "So much for a hoax."

"Still think I'm lying?" Carrie asked.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS, its characters or world. I am also stone broke so don't sue me. Just a waste of time for everyone involved. **

A grim silence settled over the bullpen as Ziva went over security tapes looking for the person who'd placed the bomb. She'd swept the room during the evacuation and was certain that it wasn't there. Tim continued tracing banking records and electronic signatures in an attempt to get a paper trail connecting Paul Stratton and Samuel Bensen aka Salvatore Benetti.

"McGee, go down to autopsy and see if Abby's ready for you to take pictures of Mrs. Bensen," Gibbs said.

"I'll go," Tony said, running his hands through his hair and again slamming his phone receiver back onto its cradle after leaving his sixth voice mail in the last hour for Sam Bensen asking him to call.

"Did I say you, DiNozzo?" Gibbs said, crooking a finger toward Tony and heading for the elevator. "Go, Tim. Keep looking, Ziva."

The elevator opened and Gibbs halfway to shoved Tony into the elevator and punched a button. Once the door was closed, Gibbs bore down on the younger man. "All right, DiNozzo, out with it. You've been sulking like a six year old all afternoon and I'm within moments of treating you like one. If you have something to say then say it. If not, then stop throwing a tantrum and get back to work."

"She's a victim and you're trying to break her like a suspect," Tony said. "I know it doesn't matter to you, but she's lost everything. You break her and I don't know that I'll be able to fix it."

Gibbs put a hand on Tony's neck and forced the younger man to look into his eyes. "Yes, I acted like a bastard to Mrs. Bensen. That's my job. I won't risk losing any of my agents because I don't have all the facts. You have to let me do things my way, Tony. I don't want you in on any questioning of your cousin. It won't work otherwise. We will sort it out as a team. You're wrong too. If it's your worry, then it's mine too."

"I don't like the idea of Carrie lying on one of Ducky's tables and having what's left of her dignity taken from her and that... bastard won't even call back," Tony said leaning against the wall, feeling somewhat defeated.

"It could be worse, DiNozzo," Gibbs said, starting the elevator back up. "She could be dead laying on Ducky's autopsy table, cut open and having no dignity at all."

"Thanks, Boss," Tony said stepping out of the elevator and heading back to the bullpen. "That thought didn't help at all."

Gibbs gave him an affectionate smack to the head. "Get back to work. Tell him his wife's dead. That ought to get his attention."

Ziva stood in front of the plasma watching the security tapes with a frown.

"Gibbs, look at this," Ziva said, rewinding the image to show her exiting the camera view. "There's no one in the building except the bomb squad. Here I am, leaving the floor where Mrs. Bensen's room was and here is another agent going back to the floor about ninety seconds later. That's our bomber. I tried to zoom in and clear the image of the face, but there are too many shadows."

"So we're looking for a very fat bomb disposal technician," DiNozzo said looking at the image, ignoring the fact that his phone was ringing.

"Or a pregnant one," Gibbs said. "You wanna get that, DiNozzo?"

"Right, Boss," Tony said, reaching over to pick up the phone. "DiNozzo... Sam. I've been trying to get a hold of you for two fricken hours. You need to get your ass down to D.C. as soon as you can... When can you be here? We'll see about that later, Sam," Tony listened to the conversation for a few minutes. "No. I'll have someone pick you up." He hung up the phone and started typing.

Gibbs waited for Tony to explain his conversation. "Well, DiNozzo?"

"Claims he was on a flight to DC and just got his messages from home," Tony said. "Just checking on getting a flight manifest."

"Go pick him up, DiNozzo," Gibbs said. "Get him in here."

"Boss, that's not a good idea," Tony said, scribbling down an address.

"It wasn't a request," Gibbs said, looking warningly at the senior field agent.

"You want him here alive?" Tony asked.

"Ziva, you go," Gibbs said with a shrug. "Make sure he wears his seat belt, and hurry back."

Ziva nodded, taking the address from Tony and grabbing her keys with a cat eating the canary grin and a wink to Tony. "I'll make sure he'll be very happy to see you, Tony, but you'll owe me a dinner."

Tony returned her smile in a grim fashion. "Anywhere you like."

Down in the autopsy suite, Abby was investigating the touching up the last of the make up job done on Carrie while she lay beneath a sheet on one of the stainless steel tables. Tim was busily getting the camera ready to start snapping.

"You'll totally pass for dead. At least for the pictures anyway," Abby said. "It's like a Playboy photo shoot minus the tropical locale."

"Or model good looks," Carrie added. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"It'll be enough," Tim said. "Once the pictures are Photoshopped to look like you're in pieces, it won't be such a big deal. You okay with this, Mrs. Bensen?"

"Not a bit, but what other choice is there," she said as Tim began snapping photographs. "I'll definitely add this in my book of 'weird things I never want to do again'. This table is freezing. Better get the rest of these pictures quick before I give away the secret."

"What do you..." Tim began but Abby cut him off.

"Her nipples are poking out. Hurry up, Tim," Abby said. She didn't like him taking the photos in the first place but he'd insisted that he was a professional and had taken postmortem photos enough to manage.

"Oh, yeah, right," Tim said, taking a few last shots and handing the memory card to Abby. "That should do it. Do your magic, Abs."

Abby bounced out of the autopsy suite and back to her lab as Carrie sat up and wrapped the sheet around her. "I bet this doesn't happen too often," Carrie said with a smile. "Having your victims sit up and talk to you."

"Ducky talks to his autopsy patients all the time," Tim said, grinning. "But I don't think they do much talking back. Go ahead and get dressed and I'll take you up to the bullpen, Mrs. Bensen."

"I think you can call me Carrie. You've just taken a lot of pictures of a very personal nature," Carrie said. She grabbed her clothes from the second table and pulled her sweater over her head and buttoning up her jeans. "I hope they work."

"They will," Tim said, turning his back to her as she dressed. "Abby's a whiz. She'll make it look real."

"Good," Carrie said, pulling on a shoe. "I'm glad it'll help."

Tony looked up as Ziva arrived with Sam, who looked a more than a little green around the gills. He was a man with salt and pepper gray hair and dark eyes. He was more lined in the face than Tony remembered but then, it had been a number of years. It wasn't any state secret that Sam was nearly twenty years older than Carrie. He took a moment to wonder if he was older or younger than Gibbs before returning to his paperwork.

Ziva's driving was as crappy as ever, and Tony smiled with a smug satisfaction that Sam had probably already had his life flash before his eyes. It would make the process easier when he killed him later.

"Anthony, where's Carolyn?" Sam asked, his voice thick. "I want to see my wife. She had me served with divorce papers. Where is she?"

Gibbs stepped out from behind his desk, motioning for Tony to remain seated. "Officer David, take Mister Bensen to our room."

Ziva nodded. "Follow me please, Mister Bensen."

"Anthony, where is Carrie?" Sam pleaded. "Tell me."

Ziva took Sam's arm and led him away as Tony looked down at his paperwork. "It would be better if you come with me."

Once Ziva had taken Sam safely out of earshot, Gibbs picked up his phone and called Abby. "Need those photos, Abs."

"Give me ten more minutes, Gibbs," Abby complained. "You can't rush great art..."

"I don't need the Mona Lisa, just some body parts will do. I got a dirtbag waiting," Gibbs said, cutting her off.

"All right, Gibbs," Abby sighed, wishing someone appreciated her refined sense of the macabre. "I'll be right up."

In the interrogation room, Ziva motioned for Sam to have a seat. "Agent Gibbs will be in soon. Can I get you anything?" Ziva asked trying to be polite.

"You can get me my wife," Sam said. "This whole 'friends in high places' thing isn't going to work."

"I was thinking more along the lines of a drink," Ziva said. "Everything else will have to wait."

It took about twenty minutes for Abby to finish altering and printing out the photographs for Gibbs and once he had them, he gathered his file and entered the interrogation room.

"Where's my wife?" Sam demanded. "Like I told your girl here, I ain't..."

"Girl?" Ziva repeated before Gibbs motioned her from harming their suspect.

"I demand to see my wife," Sam said.

"Okay," Gibbs said, tossing his file onto the table and letting the photos fall out. "Here you go. Take a good long look, Mister Benetti. Thankfully her face wasn't damaged. Same can't be said for the rest of her though, Salvatore."

"My name is Samuel Bensen," he corrected.

"No. It's Salvatore Benetti. You were under witness relocation and you hired someone to kill your wife," Gibbs said.

"That's not true," Sam said. "I did no such thing. How did she... I mean, what happened to Carrie?"

"You hired someone to shoot her, and then you hired someone else to blow her up," Gibbs said, staring directly at Sam. "What was it, Salvatore? Was it because she wanted a divorce or was it because she found out who you really were?"

"No. I didn't want anything to happen to her," Sam protested. "I tried to keep her safe from harm."

Gibbs pulled out the photo of the bruises on Carrie's back and arms. "You call this keeping her from harm?"

"Yes, I hit her but it's because I think they wired the apartment and if they thought that we didn't get along and that we hated each other, then they wouldn't hurt her," Sam said, trying to defend himself. "I always planned to apologize to her."

"Little too late for that," Gibbs said. "You can't justify beating a woman and having someone kill her. It doesn't work like that."

"I didn't want her killed," Sam insisted. "I thought if they considered her unimportant that she'd be safe."

"Who would, Salvatore?" Gibbs asked.

"My daughter and her piece of shit boyfriend, Brian Chatham," Sam said. "I didn't know she was in Washington. I came here for a business meeting and ran into her. Her boyfriend was Navy. Angela thought I was dead. It was better for her and her mother that I was. When they found out that I was married to Carrie and she had money, they decided to blackmail me. Twenty five thousand dollars or they would tell the Family about my new identity. I came to DC to pay them off and that's when Chatham decided that if I could afford twenty five then I could give them fifty. We argued and he pulled a weapon on me. My own gun from my house. The one I'd reported stolen. That's when I knew they'd been in my home. The home I shared with my wife. We struggled for the gun and it went off, killing him. I ran. I went back to New York and Carrie was gone. I worried so I hired Paul Stratton to locate her, to take care of her..."

"To kill her, you mean," Gibbs finished for him.

"No, to find her, to follow her," Sam continued. "I gave him the gun that I shot Chatham with and then he called me, telling me that he'd found Carrie. then I called in an anonymous tip about Stratton. Yeah, it was a shitty thing to do, trying to pin my crime on him but I did it. I figured that NCIS would get involved since Chatham was Navy personnel and then Anthony would get involved. I thought maybe for once he wouldn't shut her out, since she was in real trouble. Damn if I didn't get that wrong too."

Gibbs slammed his hands onto the table. "My agents have been putting themselves in harm's way and doing everything in their power to keep people from getting hurt, at the cost of their own safety. Do not insult my agents, Mister Benetti."

"Your agent is a self centered prick, Agent Gibbs," Sam shot back. "Only interested in himself and how he can snub his nose at his family at every opportunity. It wasn't her fault that the DiNozzos are dysfunctional. Carrie is... was a good woman." Sam laughed looking down at his hands. "Had one hell of a pitching arm, though. That was a woman you didn't want to piss off."

"Yeah, I know," Gibbs said. "She threw a water pitcher at me before."

"If you didn't get soaked, she wasn't trying to hit you with it," Sam said. "What's it matter anyway? She's dead and it's my fault."

"I suppose not," Gibbs said, gathering his photos and file. He motioned to the mirror for whomever was behind it to come out. "Ziva, cuff him and take him to processing. Tell them to let him make two calls for the lawyers he's going to need."

"Why would I need two lawyers?" Sam asked.

"One criminal, and one divorce," Ziva answered as Gibbs opened the door where Tony and Carrie stood side by side in the corridor.

"You're alive!" Sam exclaimed looking at Carrie.

"No thanks to you, Sammy," she replied, gazing at her husband with a mixture of disgust and disappointment. "There's one little problem with that story you told. Stratton placed that gun in my room to be found. He wasn't who you were trying to frame for the murder. It almost worked too."

Tony patted Carrie's head. "You'd make a good detective, Chubs."

"Tony, I am not a cocker spaniel," Carrie said as Sam was directed away. She then waited until he was well out of sight before regarding Gibbs. "Well, your petty officer's murder is figured out. I guess you can put this to rest now."

"Not yet," Gibbs said, crooking a finger in Tony and Carrie's direction to follow him to the conference room. Once they were inside, he locked the door. "You two sit." he ordered, to which they both complied. "We're only half done. We don't yet have the person who tried to kill you."

"Shouldn't this go to the city police? I'm a civilian, Agent Gibbs," Carrie said. "Besides, I said it before. I didn't come here to make Tony's life difficult. I came to..."

"Say goodbye," Gibbs said.

"You're not making my life difficult, Carrie. You know that," Tony said. "Besides, I'm involved now whether or not you like it."

"You don't have to be. I..." Carrie said before being interrupted.

"Would you two shut up?" Gibbs said, giving the cousins a stern look. "It doesn't matter how or why it came to this, but as you said it before Tony. It's family, and we're going to keep it in the family. Until we can prove who tried to blow you up, you're going to stay in protective custody. Tony, you are going to stay with Carrie at a safe house."

"Not my place, Boss," Tony said. "It's only a one bedroom."

"This is going to be extremely inconvenient for your team," Carrie said.

"Are you two only family when it's convenient?" Gibbs asked, staring the pair down intently.

"No," they answered in unison, apparently a habit of their own making.

"Good. You two stay here and be family while I make some calls," Gibbs said opening the door and leaving, locking it behind him.

"How do you work with him, Tony?" Carrie asked.

"He grows on ya after a while. Kind of like Uncle Denny on a bender," Tony said. "He'll be back soon... I hope."

**Author's Note: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. As always, critiques and reviews are welcome.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: As always, Belisarius Inc owns NCIS and all its goodness. I'm just borrowing for a while.**

Gibbs passed by the bullpen and took the steps to the Director's office two at a time. Ziva returned from processing their murderer and gave Tim a look.

"Where's Tony?" she asked. "I thought he would be out here trying to finish up his report so that he could leave.

"I'm trying to finish my own work, Ziva," Tim said gruffly, not looking away from the screen as he typed. "Tony can babysit himself for a change. We already lost a weekend and I would really like to get out of here before Gibbs decides that we're staying until next weekend."

"I just asked, Tim," Ziva replied. "You don't have to be snitchy about it."

"I'm not being... snitchy," Tim said, certain that he was. "I have plans and I'd rather not have to cancel them to take care of DiNozzo's mess."

"Is that so, Elflord?" Gibbs asked coming back into the bullpen. "So you have plans tonight, McGee. Well, then go. Come in tomorrow and finish the report. Go."

"Boss?" Tim began but decided to grab his coat before Gibbs changed his mind. "Thanks, Boss."

Gibbs then looked at Ziva. "You still here? Go home."

"I was waiting for Tony," Ziva said. "Where is he?"

"Time out," Gibbs answered. "He'll be providing security for his cousin at a safe house. Abby should be here..."

Abby came bounding into the bullpen with her usual energy and vigor, Tim close on her heels. She was decked out, ready for a party in her black miniskirt, boots, black tee shirt and favorite collar. "Here you go, Gibbs. Everything you asked for. I'd love to stick around but the concert starts in an hour."

"Thanks, Abs," Gibbs said, kissing Abby's cheek with a chuckle. "Tell Tim to take you out to dinner after the concert... and call me when you get home."

"Gibbs!" Abby protested. "I might not go home, did you ever think of that?"

Gibbs bore his blue eyes at Abby, his unofficially adopted daughter, and stared intently. "Call me."

"All right," she said, giving Gibbs a hug before leaving. "Just don't be crabby when I do. Bye, Gibbs. Bye, Ziva." She grabbed Tim's hand and headed for the elevator.

"How is this going to help with finding the person who set the bomb?" Ziva asked.

"It's not," Gibbs said, heading toward the conference room. "This is to help them, even if I have to knock their heads together to make it happen. You coming?"

"I wouldn't miss this for all the peas in China," Ziva said.

"Tea, Ziva," Gibbs corrected, unlocking the door. "All the tea in China."

Tony looked up as Gibbs and Ziva walked in. "See? I told you he'd be back. What's up, Boss?"

"We have a safe house," Gibbs said. "Fornell knows someone who is letting us use his camping cabin at Deep Creek. We'll use that as a base of operations while we track down the person who tried to kill Carrie."

"I need to make some calls," Carrie said. "I have to get a hold of my attorney and my financial consultant. They need to know about Sam."

"Ziva, take her out to the bullpen to make her calls," Gibbs said.

"Sure, Gibbs. Come with me," Ziva said as Carrie followed her out. Gibbs closed the door behind her.

"You okay, Tony?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, Boss," Tony replied. "I'm good. Still reeling from it all. I always thought that it was just my Dad and me that were screwed up. With everything that's happened to Carrie, I guess we're all screwed up in our own ways."

"Yep. I guess so, Kid," Gibbs said. "I couldn't get the bombing case transferred. FBI, ATF and Homeland Security are all battling for it. Fornell agreed that we could keep Carrie in protective custody with us until he is told that he has to hand it over. That was the best I could do."

"Thanks, Boss. I know you tried," Tony said.

"Go home and grab some stuff and come back," Gibbs said. "It's about a forty five minute drive to the cabin."

"By whose driving?" Tony asked.

Gibbs gave him a good natured smack on the head. "Go get your gear, DiNozzo."

Tony knew that a wise ass comment at this particular moment would be tantamount to suicide so he nodded and grinned. "Be back in a few, Boss."

* * *

The trip to the cabin was quick and it was a better than one would have thought when thinking of camping. Tony got out and looked over the place. He kept one hand on his Sig while he and Ziva inspected the cabin. The electricity was already on so he turned on all the lights as he went.

"Clear!" he called out to Gibbs and as he finished his sweep. Gibbs took Carrie's arm and led her quickly into the house. "This place rocks! Fireplace, jacuzzi, big screen LCD..."

"Woodshed," Gibbs commented with a slight teasing grin as he locked the door and walked into the kitchen, taking an inventory. "Ziva, DiNozzo, we'll need supplies, groceries. I'll stay here."

Tony looked for a moment as though he might argue but decided against it. "You need anything, Chubs?" he asked. She nodded and handed him a quickly written list and a twenty. Tony's face went from neutral to uneasy with one glance. She shrugged as if to say, 'Well you asked.'

Ziva looked over his shoulder to see the list and gave an evil little chuckle. "We'll be back soon," she said, following Tony.

The supermarket was not far off and Tony pushed the cart as Ziva rode on the end, forcing him to hold it down as they went through the aisles. Item by item they checked off things on the lists but finally Tony could not avoid it any longer.

"Ziva, I'm begging you to go down and pick this up," he said pointing to the last item on Carrie's list.

Ziva laughed. "Tony, they are just sanitary napkins. It's a perfectly normal biological function. Every woman deals with it," she said, stepping off the end of the cart.

"Please," Tony pleaded. "There's like eight billion different ones. I wouldn't know where to begin."

Ziva walked down the feminine hygiene section and returned, tossing the pads into the cart. "See? That wasn't so difficult."

"Thank you," Tony said, leaning down and kissing Ziva's cheek. "I owe you big time."

"Yes, you certainly do," she grinned. "But that is a good down payment."

* * *

Gibbs gathered some wood from a pile next to the fireplace and lit some kindling. "It should get warm in here soon," he said, looking the young woman over. She was pale and dark circles were pooling under her eyes. "You okay?"

"I'm tired," Carrie said as she sat down on the sofa. "I'll be fine once I get some sleep."

Gibbs shrugged as he stepped over to the kitchen area to make some coffee.

Carrie leaned back and ran her hands through her hair. The reality of her situation was beginning to sink in. She covered her face with her forearms as tears started rolling from the sides of her eyes and down her cheeks. "Oh, God," she exhaled, reaching down and feeling her now flat stomach. "He's gone. I have nothing."

She cursed herself for crying. The tears wouldn't stop and she hated feeling weak and she especially didn't want to give Gibbs the satisfaction of seeing her break down. For two days, he'd put her through hell and now she was sitting there bawling like a child in front of him, unable to stop the tears.

"That's kind of what I thought," Gibbs said, sitting down next to her and drawing her into him as he'd often done with Abby when she was having a bad day. He sat there rubbing her back while she finally succumbed to the overwrought emotions, pain and exhaustion until Tony and Ziva returned nearly an hour later.


	8. Chapter 8

**Note: There's finally a contract for the writers so we'll be getting new episodes of NCIS this spring. Yay! I hope you enjoy this latest chapter.

* * *

**

Abby walked into the bullpen carrying a coffee for her favorite NCIS 'Boss' and perched herself on the edge of Gibbs' desk, setting the coffee down in front of him. "You're going to see Tony and his cousin, right?" she asked.

"Mm-hmm," Gibbs grunted taking a drink. "That's the plan. We had to leave someone for security while we came back to do some real work."

"I think we should all go to see him," Abby said. "They've been up there a week already without so much as a friendly 'hello' from any of us. So much for advanced cellphone technology. You guys will come too, won't you? McGee? Ziva?"

Tim didn't answer as he was listening to messages left on a tip hotline regarding the bombing and Ziva gave a snort and chuckle as she shook her head.

"Oh, come on!" Abby said. "Tony's gone out of his way to take care of you guys before. Surely it wouldn't be too much to ask for you to give a weekend to visit with him."

"Boss," Tim interrupted. "You need to hear this."

Tim put his phone on speaker and a digitized voice reached their ears, "The bomb was not placed for the woman. Anthony DiNozzo and the woman will attend the George Franklin Literary Awards and receive instructions on how to find the bomb. If they do not attend the event, the bomb will detonate and Anthony DiNozzo will live to mourn the lives of everyone he cares about."

"This puts the case right back in our laps," Gibbs said. "I'll call Fornell. Tell him to release the evidence he collected at her apartment."

"The Franklin Awards are in New York, Boss," Tim offered. "I was sent an invitation but hadn't planned to attend."

"More than an invitation, Timmy," Abby interrupted as she was borrowing Tony's computer. "You're on the list of award recipients for Best New Fiction Writer. Oh, and look here. Tony's cousin is on the list of benefactors."

"Can we trace the call back?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm workin' on it, Boss," McGee replied, tapping furiously at his keyboard. "Here we go. It was a pay phone at Ronald Regan Washington National Airport. I'll check with security and see if we can come up with anything."

"Gibbs," Ziva said. "There was a body pulled from the river early this morning. Angela Benetti. Metro police are sending the body to Ducky."

"Looks like visit will have to wait," Abby said, resigned to heading back to her lab to wait for results from Ducky's autopsy.

"It'll be a couple of hours until Ducky's done, Abs," Gibbs said. "You want to come along? Let's go. McGee, work on that trace. Ziva, find me a ringer for Carolyn Bensen for that ceremony."

Abby clapped in excitement. "Yay, my first field assignment."

"We'll be back in a couple of hours," Gibbs said. "Have some information for me when we get back."

* * *

_In a dark auditorium filled with parents and families, the spotlight came up on the stage where two small figures stood in dance costumes, a sandy haired boy in a sequined tuxedo and a small girl with a blonde wig in a black and white ball gown. They stood motionless until their music cue. It was a perfectly recreated scene from an old Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie, chosen by their mothers. The children had watched _Roberta _until neither thought they could stand it one more time before they'd begun rehearsals. _

_The gamble paid off and the mothers now sat in the audience, proudly watching their children tap out every beat with perfect synchronization to the video playing behind them. They held their own among the adult performers for the charity performance and at the end of the night received a special mention by the emcee for their outstanding efforts. The biggest treat for the pair were the sweet baskets that were given to them as a thank you. After a series of photographs, the boy's mother pulled her son aside._

"_I'm very proud of you, Tony," his mother said as she caressed his hair and placed a kiss on his head. She then turned to the nanny that waited for the children. "Mary, please take the children home and put them to bed. Tell Richard I'll ride with Vincent and Gina to the ball and he can head straight there after he's dropped you off."_

"_Why can't we go too, Mom?" Tony asked, almost whining. "We want to go to the party with everyone else."_

_The woman cuddled her son for a moment before kneeling down to look him in the eye. "I told you, Sweetie. The party is for grown ups. You and Carrie will be very bored there. Be a good boy and go home and I'll see you bright and early in the morning. If you're good and don't complain any more, you and Carrie can stay up and watch a movie when you get home."_

_The promise of staying up was more than enough to get the boy to nod in agreement and go with his nanny. The girl was already yawning and the nanny had no trouble getting the pair of them home. _

Tony looked at the photograph of himself, Carrie, his mother and her parents smiling back up at him for a long while. The album was the one thing that Carrie asked Fornell to retrieve from her house for her while he was there looking over her soon to be ex-husband's possessions. He obliged her the favor as she'd willingly signed search consent for him.

Fornell and Sacks had been to the cabin what seemed like dozens of times over the last week to question, re-question and triple check facts and information while his cousin was hiding out there. Tony could barely bring himself to admit that he was restless doing nothing when he wanted to be doing something to find the people who'd tried blowing up his cousin. Neither of them were sleeping much and combined with the constant closeness, Tony was ready to go home. His external sweeps were growing considerably longer each time he made the excuse to go out, though he couldn't help feeling a little guilty about it since he at least had the option of leaving the cabin from time to time.

"You've been staring at that picture for the last hour," Carrie said, setting down a cup of coffee next to him. "I miss them too, Buzz."

"I don't understand why you would keep this around," Tony grumbled, closing the book. "Doesn't it just bother you that everything turned to shit after that?"

"I keep it to remember how they lived and who they were, Tony," Carrie replied. "There's nothing wrong with remembering the happy and full lives we had when they were living. I'd like to think that I would have given my own child that."

Tony groused. "They died the night that picture was taken. How can you see happiness in it?"

"Because I prefer to think that the years they lived weren't erased by the one minute when they died," Carrie shot back defensively.

"Do I need to send you two to your rooms?" Gibbs asked walking in with a pizza.

"We're tired and starved for information up here. Fornell's not telling us anything. What's going on, Boss?" Tony asked, desperate for any news.

"Tony!" Abby squealed bouncing in the cabin and throwing her arms around her well missed buddy. "God, you look like hell."

"Thanks, Abby," Tony replied, returning her enthusiastic hug. "Let go. So Boss, what's the latest?"

"It seems the bomb that was set off in Carrie's room wasn't for her. It was meant for you. We got a message that if you two don't show at the George Franklin Awards tomorrow, there's going to be a lot of very dead people somewhere," Gibbs said. "We're looking for someone to go in your place, Carrie. Someone to work as a ringer but it's going to be tough."

"Unless you have a lot of short Dago broads working for NCIS, that's going to be a tough order to fill," Carrie mused.

Tony resisted the urge to laugh and stifled it by coughing. "How are we going to get in? Those sorts of things are usually invitation only."

"McGee's up for an award. We'll be able to get you in with him," Gibbs explained.

"You okay going as a couple, Tony?" Carrie asked.

"Couple?" Tony repeated. "I'm not going as a couple with McGeek."

"I can call Albert Simon and ask him for a favor," Carrie offered. "He sets the whole thing up every year."

"No. We can't risk alerting the person who called in the demand and having them set off the bomb," Gibbs said.

"I have a second invitation. I can get another of your people in that way. Security's not going to accept anyone else with my invitation, unless I call Al," Carrie said.

"I don't want you there," Gibbs said sharply. "It's too dangerous. You're not an agent."

"No, I'm not an agent. I am, however, what one would call a social staple. I don't have to stay; just get Tony in to do whatever it is they need to do," Carrie retorted. "I can leave my handbag in the limousine. I leave my 'date' there and I'm out of the way inside of ten minutes."

"How do I know you'll leave once you're in?" Gibbs asked.

I've mastered the art of getting out of parties I don't want to attend," Carrie answered. "The last thing I want to do is hang around when there's a **bomb **somewhere close by. I've had quite enough of being taken hostage, shot and people trying to blow me up. But even with all that, I don't want anyone else to get hurt, Agent Gibbs. Now let me help you."

Gibbs leveled his gaze on Carrie in stone silence. "Okay," he finally replied. "But you get him in and you get directly back out. If you're in there at eleven minutes, and I get my hands on you; your butt is toast."

"You have my word, Agent Gibbs," Carrie promised. "I'm NOT suicidal and I'm definitely not into pain."

Gibbs offered a half grin. "Only my boys get smacked in the head in this family regularly. Doesn't mean I won't take things into my own hands, if I think one of the girls needs it. Get your stuff, we're heading back to DC."

"Congratulations, Carrie," Abby offered. "You're part of the family now."

"Thanks, I think," Carrie said.

* * *

**Author's Note: Look forward to hearing from my readers. Let me know if you all think I'm rushing through the story. Do I need to expand on anything? PM me and let me know. Thanks!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: NCIS and its characters belong to Belisarius and not me. Darnit. **

Gibbs opened the Director's door, knowing she hadn't yet gone home. He hadn't seen her putting in so many hours since she'd been obsessing over La Grenouille. She pushed aside some paperwork and looked up.

"What do you want, Jethro?" she asked, not bothering with pleasantries.

"Working late, Jen?" Gibbs asked.

"There's been an uptick in chatter in the weapons circles. Apparently, La Grenouille has made a reappearance in the business," she replied. "Nothing concrete to pinpoint his location but enough to generate interest. So what's got you working late? Guard duty getting exciting?"

"Had to bring her back," Gibbs said. "We got a tip on the hotline about a possible bombing. They're demanding that Tony and his cousin turn up at an awards ceremony in New York tomorrow."

"Have you contacted the awards organizers to postpone or cancel the event?" she asked.

"Not going to do much good. The tip said that they had to attend, not that the bomb was placed at the site," Gibbs said. "If we cancel, a bomb could go off anywhere. She's all but demanded to go with Tony. She has an invitation for the"

"And you think sending in a civilian with NCIS is a good idea?" Jen asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.

"Nope," Gibbs replied. "But she's determined that she doesn't want innocent people harmed. We've got a deal that she gets Tony in and gets herself out in ten minutes. She has an invitation as does McGee."

"Ah," Jen said, "So Mister Gemcity will be making an appearance as well. I assume he's going to have a beautiful Israeli date for the evening?"

"Yep."

"How will you get in?"

"I'm not. I'll be the driver," Gibbs said. "She has a 1939 white Packard Limousine that we'll use to get them there which I will drive and be close at hand for security once she leaves the building again."

"You would give up the chance to be at the head of your team inside during a potential bombing so that you can drive a fancy car?" Jen asked, looking almost amused.

"I'll be leading my team from outside where I can have a better view of those entering and exiting the building," Gibbs said straight faced. "Driving the car is just a bonus."

"I'll call the field office in New York to provide support," Jen said, picking up the phone. "Be careful, Jethro."

Gibbs walked out, satisfied that he was getting what he wanted. His team was in the bullpen waiting on him. "Let's go. We're going to New York. Two cars. DiNozzo, you and Carrie are with me. McGee, you and Ziva take the truck. Meet you in New York in three hours. Bring a toothbrush."

"Boss, it's a four hour drive," McGee said. He sighed in defeat as Gibbs stared at him. "I'll let Ziva drive."

After a fast and furious drive into New York, Carrie opened the door to her house and dropped her keys on the table inside the door.

"Home Sweet Home," she sighed looking around at the deserted house. "Make yourselves comfortable. Bedrooms are upstairs. Pick which ones you like. There are plenty not in use right now. I'll make something to eat."

"You don't have to do that, Chubs," Tony said. "It's late and we should all get some sleep. Besides, with Ziva's driving, Probie won't be ready to eat for at least a week."

"Shut up, Tony," McGee said, still looking green around the gills.

Tony, Ziva and McGee said their good nights as they went upstairs. Ziva looked around at the portraits as they walked the hall. "This one looks like you, DiNozzo. Antonio Frederick DiNozzo," she said of a painting dated in the late 18th Century.

"Our great-great grandfather," Tony said. "Granny Josie split the portraits up between Pete, Carrie and myself. Carrie's been holding onto mine. She appreciates them more and has the house to show them in. We practically grew up in this house when we were kids. Granny loved having us around."

Tony led her down to a door just before the master bedroom. "This is the room we spent the most time in," he said. "The nursery was a great place to be in." He opened the door and looked around at the freshly painted room, a mural of Peter Pan's world adorned the walls. A white crib sat beneath a sheer green canopy that was supposed to be the leaves of a large painted tree. "Wow. Look at this place. Carrie always did have an amazing imagination and the skill to pull it off. Check out the detail on the Lost Boys," Tony said.

"This one is you," Ziva said, pointing to Peter Pan.

Tony chuckled. "Yeah, it is. Like I said, she's a good artist. This would have been a great place for her to raise her kid."

Carrie walked into the kitchen and Gibbs followed. "Can I get you something to drink?" she asked, getting down a couple of glasses.

"You got bourbon?" he asked, sitting at the breakfast bar. She reached up and pulled down a bottle of Knob Creek and slid it across the counter. "Didn't peg you for a hard liquor gal."

"It's been a rough couple of weeks." she said taking a drink. "Lost my family."

"Gained another one," Gibbs said, downing his drink. "Like Abby said, you're part of our family now. You better get some sleep tonight. Tomorrow's going to be a big day."

"You're not kidding," Carrie said finishing her own drink. "We have to go into the city and get you fellas fitted for tuxedos. I'll take Ziva over to Bloomingdales. Lots to do and only a little time to do it. I'll call ahead with my charge information to Brooks Brothers."

"You don't have to..." Gibbs began.

"Besides, I want to do this. Now for a change of pace, just don't be a pain in the ass about this." Carrie said, pouring another round for them.

"You eat with that mouth?" Gibbs said with a grin, taking his drink and downing it quickly.

Carrie got a wicked grin on her face as she took another drink. "Occasionally, but only if I really liked him, Agent Gibbs," she giggled.

Gibbs set his glass to the side and pulled hers from her hand. He then picked her up from the chair she was perched on. "You need to go to bed, Young Lady," he said, carrying her up the stairs. "Having a hangover isn't going to do you any good."

"I haven't been good and drunk in a very long time, Agent Gibbs," Carrie said. "And a couple of drinks aren't quite enough to get me to the point of hung over."

"You're going to bed, Carrie," he said, walking down the hall to the master bedroom and dumping her on her bed. "Get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning."

Gibbs closed her bedroom door behind him as he stopped where Ziva and Tony were still admiring the nursery. "You two still up? Hit the rack," he ordered, ushering them out of the room and closing that door as well.

The morning sun had the crew up after a few hours of very good sleep. Tony and McGee brought in equipment from the truck and started testing audio and visual tools that they would be using that evening.

"Agent Lee let us borrow her vest for Carrie," Tim said. "Although how we're going to manage to get them under the girls' dresses I don't know."

"We can't, McGee," Ziva answered. "Evening dresses don't leave much space for things like vests."

"Then you better find one that does," Gibbs said coming downstairs. "We don't know who or what we're actually dealing with yet. No chances. Carrie up yet?"

"I am now," Carrie said, her hair curled and make up done. She was wearing a light pantsuit and jacket. "Good morning. I hope you fellas are ready to get shopping. You can't attend the Franklin Awards without the proper attire."

"We have a problem, Carrie," Ziva said. "Gibbs wants us wearing vests under our dresses."

"Are you kidding me?" Carrie said, looking at him. "There's no way an evening dress is going to hide one of those bulky..."

Gibbs gave her a 'no arguments' stare that stopped her in her tracks.

"We'll see what we can do," Carrie said. "No promises though."

"Make it happen," Gibbs said.

By the time evening rolled around, Gibbs had managed to put the entire New York NCIS subdivision in place around the Metropolitan Museum main entrance. He'd bullied his way around getting everyone exactly where he wanted them and thoroughly inspected Carrie's car that would take them to the Met, ensuring that it hadn't been tampered with.

Ziva's dress , a brilliant red full length halter gown, gave no chance for her vest to be worn, but she was able to strap her Sig to her thigh in the event of an emergency. Carrie's was a more modest gold gown with a bolero jacket that deftly hid the vest that Gibbs insisted on.

"Why couldn't you get a matching dress?" he asked Ziva when he saw them.

"Because I bought this in the juniors section, Gibbs," Carrie said. "It's made for a twelve year old, and it looks every bit of it."

"Remember, once you're in, you have ten minutes to get back out," Gibbs said, pulling the car up to the front entrance of the Met.

"Tony, your tie is crooked," Carrie said, ignoring the warning that Gibbs had been pounding down her throat for the last hour. "Let me fix it."

"Carrie!" Gibbs said, raising his voice.

"I know, Gibbs. Are you going to play concerned papa all night?" she asked.

"At least until you're out of the Met," he replied. "I mean it. No chances, any of you. McGee, you and Ziva out first to draw the media hounds away. Tony, you get yourself and Carrie in as quick as possible."

"Got it, Boss," Tony said as the car stopped. "You first, Thom E. Gemcity. Your public awaits."

Tim and Ziva stepped out after Gibbs opened the door and, as planned, the paparazzi began snapping photos madly at the newest star writer stopped for photo ops.

Tony and Carrie stepped out and around them moving quickly toward the door. "Tony, slow down or I'm going to break a heel," Carrie said. "We're damn near running."

"Sort of under a time crunch here, Chubs," Tony said. They stopped at the door and Carrie smiled at a white haired, portly elderly gentleman standing at the front.

"Albert, how are you?" she said warmly, giving him a hug.

"Carolyn, good to see you," he said. "After all the rumors, I feared you'd miss the ceremony this year."

"Thankfully, things worked out well," Carrie replied. "Al, this is my cousin Anthony DiNozzo. Anthony, this is Albert Simon, chairman of the Franklin Committee."

"Pleased to meet you, Mister Simon," Tony said as they stepped toward the door.

"Call me Al," he replied. "Go in, go in. I'll catch up with you again as soon as I greet the rest of my guests."

Carrie and Tony went inside and were greeted by servers moving through the crowds with drinks. Tony picked up the last pair of glasses and handed one to Carrie.

"Let's make it look good anyway," Tony said, keeping his eye on the room to see when Tim and Ziva made their way in. He then whispered into his microphone set in his cufflink. "Hey, Boss. You got a good view with Carrie's necklace camera?"

"_Yeah, DiNozzo," _Gibbs said. _"I see that you're having drinks. You want to get it moving?"_

Carrie sipped at the champagne until Tim and Ziva arrived. With their crew all in, Carrie handed the drink back to Tony. "Be careful, Buzz. I'm heading out."

"See you soon, Chubs," Tony said as she headed for the door.

Carrie began to stumble as she reached the door, feeling light headed and dizzy. Her vision began to blur as she walked down the stairs, looking for the car.

Gibbs watched her stumbling and his voice came into her earwig. _"Carrie? You okay? The car is twenty feet past the entrance. Just get to the car." _He then switched to Tony. _"You okay, DiNozzo? Carrie's looking drugged."_

Tim cut in. _"Boss, Tony's looking pretty out of it. We're getting him some water and taking him out for air."_

"_I'm intercepting Carrie," _Gibbs said. _"Ziva, find the waiter that gave them the drinks."_

Gibbs started moving toward the entrance when a black van pulled up blocking his view of Carrie. A hooded figure pulled the nearly unconscious woman into the van and peeled away at top speed. Gibbs took a few shots at the van, as did his support team without much success. The NCIS car pulled up and Gibbs jumped in so that they could follow the van.


	10. Chapter 10

**Note: I don't own the NCIS world. Wish I did. **

**Sorry it has taken so long to get this rather small chapter out. I was waylaid by a stomach bug. I will likely have another chapter up in the next few days. Feel free to review or PM me with questions, requests, etc.

* * *

**The blurred vision and foggy thought processes were an uncomfortably familiar sensation for Tony from his experience with Gunnery Sergeant Bill Atlas in Virginian sewer system a few years earlier. He stumbled as he tried to head for the door, bumping into someone whose features he couldn't make out. 

"Crap," he muttered, leaning against the wall and sliding down to his knees. He felt someone holding him up and moving him to a chair. He felt someone holding him up and moving him to a chair.

"Stay with me, Tony," Tim said, lightly slapping him in the face to get the senior field agent's attention. He opened a fresh bottle of water and held it to Tony's mouth. "Drink this..." he then spoke into his microphone. "Boss, Tony's looking pretty out of it. We're getting him some water and taking him out for some air."

"_I'm intercepting Carrie," _Gibbs said. _"Ziva, find the waiter that gave them the drinks."_

Ziva took off toward the serving area where the waiters picked up trays but could not find the one responsible for supplying the drinks. Whoever he was, he'd left as soon as he'd delivered the drinks. She then heard Gibbs as she returned to Tony and Tim.

"_Carrie's been grabbed. I'm in pursuit."_

"Let's get him outside to get some air," Tim said, motioning for Ziva to take Tony's other arm.

Tony slung his arm around Ziva's shoulders. "I love you," he said, leaning in close to her ear. "You are so amazing. You're beautiful, you're intelligent, and you... you... I really want you right now."

Ziva wrapped her arm around Tony's waist, pulling his weapon from it's holster and chuckled. "Why don't we go for a little walk, Tony? We'll get someone to help with your problem and we'll talk about the rest later. I'll take care of your weapon for you."

"Thank you, Love," he said, kissing her.

"You're going to regret that later, DiNozzo," Ziva said. "But I won't hold it against you... for now."

Tony whispered something to her and she shook her head. "Tony! Look, there's an ambulance. Let's get you some help first."

He continued to mumble incoherently as a pretty pert blonde paramedic attached him to oxygen.

"Do I even want to know what he said?" Tim asked.

"I will kill you, McGee," Ziva warned as she stepped into the back of the ambulance.

"Hi, Beautiful," Tony said, seeing Ziva. "Couldn't stay away, could you? You know how much I love you?"

The medic gave Ziva a smile. "He's going to be very loving for the next few hours. We'll take him to the hospital to rest and continue with IV saline to help flush him out. He will be tested for date rape drugs at the hospital."

"Thank you. I will come with him," Ziva said.

Tony reached out and took Ziva's hand. "What about Carrie?"

"Gibbs is taking care of Carrie," Ziva said, stroking his hair. "Go to sleep, Tony. I'll be with you when you wake up."

She looked down at Tony's jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of paper with a pair of tweezers. It simply read: You Lose.

Gibbs hopped into the local NCIS car and peeled out after the van which had already turned the corner and speeding off. As he made the turn, there were two vans of the same make and model weaving through traffic. There were too many civilian vehicles to obtain a safe and clear shot at either van. The two vehicles split at the light and Gibbs needed to make a split second decision. He followed the one that turned to the left and found an opening to take his shot at the tires of the van. The bullets hit but no deflation came as the van's occupants returned fire., blowing out the windshield and hitting the engine block, killing the NCIS vehicle. Gibbs punched the steering wheel as the van tore away.

"Damn it," Gibbs swore as he dialed Ziva's cell phone. "I lost the van. Any luck with the server?"

"_He was gone already, Gibbs," _Ziva replied. _"Tony is being taken to the hospital now. Tim is canvasing the scene with the local agents and LEOs. I found a note in Tony's pocket. It says, 'You Lose'. Maybe we can lift some prints from that."_

"I'll be there in five minutes," Gibbs said, closing his cell phone. He kicked one of the tires as he headed back for the museum. As he began the jog back, Gibbs' anger flooded him. This wasn't a fight he could lose.

He returned to the museum. Tony and Ziva were already on their way to the hospital as Tim took witness statements and looked for any other clues as to the identity of the drink steward.

"Any security tapes?" Gibbs asked McGee.

"Yep, and have copies on disc, Boss," McGee said.

"Let's go," Gibbs said, taking a critical look at the scene. "The local LEOs can take care of this. We're not going to find anything that will help us here. We have to see if that note Ziva found on Tony will help us."

The hospital emergency room was bustling with activity as Gibbs and McGee found Ziva waiting in a family room while the doctors and nurses moved Tony to a bed.

"Ziva, get that sample to Abby and get her in the lab. Send it by helio if you have to but I want an analysis of everything about that note," Gibbs ordered.

When they entered the room, Tony was sleeping peacefully. The toxicology report showed that he was sleeping off a heavy dose of GHB but was otherwise unharmed and would be well in a few hours.

Some hours later, Tony began to rouse as Gibbs sat in the chair next to him.

"Hey, Boss," Tony said pushing the button on the side of his bed to sit up a little. "Where's Carrie?"

"She was grabbed, Tony," Gibbs said. "We'll get her back."

Tony tried to smile but failed. "I screwed up, Boss. I'm sorry." He swung his legs over the bed and Gibbs promptly lifted them back in.

"Yeah," Gibbs said, leaving any anger out of his voice. "We'll deal with that later. In the meantime, stay in that bed."

"Boss," Tony began to argue. "I have to help find her."

"Not until the doctor clears you, DiNozzo," Gibbs said. "Don't make me have to get Ziva in here to tie you to the bed."

Tony offered his usual charismatic grin as Gibbs gave him a light slap to the head. Tim and Ziva stormed into the room. "Boss, you have to see this," Tim said, turning on the television. The image of the Statue of Liberty flooded with lights and a small figure wearing an explosive vest and holding an infant was chained to the torch.

"_...demands are not yet known. The United States Park Police are on hand to negotiate. We will be bringing you live updates as this incredible story develops..."_

"We know where she is now," Gibbs said, grabbing his jacket. "Let's go."

"Boss," Tony said, standing up. "Please don't make me stay behind."

"Grab your gear, DiNozzo," Gibbs said, "and some pants."

As Tony was dressing, Gibbs cell phone rang. It was Abby.

"_Hey, I pulled two prints from the paper and the gas chromatograph had a field day with what was found on it..."_ Abby said. _"The prints are still running and the ink wasn't any help. It came from a Hewlett Packard Deskjet so you'd only have about a couple hundred thousand to go through to find the right one. But on the paper itself was a trace of amniotic fluid. Whoever touched that note recently gave birth, and I mean like REALLY recent. In the last day kind of recent."_

In the background, Gibbs heard Abby's computer giving her a match sound. "What was that, Abs?" he asked.

"_We have a match on the print but you're not going to like this, Gibbs," _Abby answered. _"Last year when Tony was being all secretive about the girl he was dating which turned out to be his big undercovers assignment..."_

"Abby!" Gibbs scolded to get the young woman back on track. "We're running out of time."

"_One of the prints on the paper match the print that Ziva brought me from Tony's car before it blew up," _Abby said. _"Jeanne Benoit."_


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer and Author's Notes: As always, I don't own the original NCIS characters or their world, but oh how I wish I did. **

**A quick thanks to all of the people who have left feedback and put my story on their alerts. Thank you all so much for continuing to read my writing and offering encouragement and friendship. Feedback and constructive criticism is always welcomed and appreciated.

* * *

**"The video feed is going live, Madame," Trent announced in his soft voice as he handed Jeanne a glass of wine and kissed her cheek. "I'm not sure how long we will have before the camera " 

"I will enjoy the time it is available, Dear Trent," Jeanne replied. "You've managed everything just perfectly, taking care of my little problem. My father was wise to trust you to handle these problems for him."

"Your mistake was easily fixed, my Dear," he said running a finger gently along her jawline. "Had things gone to plan, the child would have made an excellent bargaining chip."

"As it turned out, those plans didn't work out and I do not have time for any more complications," Jeanne replied tersely. "At any rate, this was the best course of action. If they live, then it is someone else's problem and if they die, it is still someone else's problem. He won't take it."

"And you are certain this doesn't bother you?" Trent asked.

"Of course it bothers me, Trent," she said, taking a sip of her wine. "But I had to wait until it was born first. Be a dear and tell the pilot to take off in twenty minutes."

"As you wish," Trent said with a bow.

* * *

The wind whipped around as Gibbs and his team as they climbed to the top of the Statue's torch. The air was bitter cold and Gibbs blew into his hands to keep them warmed. Carrie was lying barely conscious as she clung to an infant who was wailing in protest of hunger and cold. An explosive vest was attached to her with a lead going to the baby. Gibbs motioned Tony and Ziva to move forward as news helicopters hovered overhead, shining spotlights down on them. At least it made it easier to see.

Tony helped Carrie to sit up and keep her steady. "Hey, you okay?" he asked. "Whose kid?"

"She's yours, Buzz," Carrie slurred, tossing an arm around her cousin's shoulders. "But don't worry, you can have the house if I die. It'll be a good place to raise the baby."

Tony gave Carrie a mini version of the Gibbs Slap. "Don't talk like that. You're not going to die. It's the drugs screwing you up."

"Hey, I don't mind a little slap and tickle, but not with you. That's just wrong," Carrie mumbled, laughing at her own imagined joke.

"Just sit still and let Ziva do her job, okay?" Tony said, holding the baby. "Just stay really still."

Tony began looking the baby over. He put his finger in her mouth to see if she'd quit crying. The tiny infant began suckling on the proffered finger. "Eww. Freaky. She's just born, isn't she? She's still got that gross belly button thing on."

"Keep doing that, Tony. The quieter the baby is, the easier my job will be," Ziva said as she looked over the device and found the box holding the wires. Carefully prying the cover away, she followed the two blue wires from the would be victims of this particular bomb and traced the way to the trigger wire. A small envelope fell from the cover and Tony picked it up. It was addressed to him. Wasn't there a better time to receive mail? On the back of the envelope, it read: I C U

"Tony," Gibbs called. "Pull back and give Ziva room to work."

"Ziva?" Tony asked.

"It's all right, Tony. Give Carrie the baby," she said. "Pull back. I think I can get this."

No sooner did he hand the baby off; the vest began to smoke. An unknown male voice, the accent South African, came over an unseen speaker. "That was a warning, Anthony DiNozzo. Move again and I will blow it."

Carrie let out a cry of fear as Tony returned to his seated position. "Guess I have to disobey," Tony said. "Bomb beats Boss any day."

"It does today anyway, DiNozzo," Gibbs said. He pulled McGee into his whispering range. "Find that speaker."

"Right, Boss," Tim said moving around the torch. The light from the helicopters overhead helped him to locate the speaker and the video camera which he disabled in an uncharacteristic brutal fashion by pulling it down and smashing it to bits underfoot. "They're still going to have a really good view from the live news."

* * *

NCIS Director Jennifer Shepherd sat in her home office watching the news feed from New York. There was little she could do but to watch her team atop the Statue of Liberty, risking their lives to disarm a bomb. She took a drink of bourbon and answered her phone as it began to ring.

"_Good evening, Director,"_ Trent Kort said. _"I assume you are watching the news reports on your people?"_

"Of course I am," she replied tersely. "What in the hell is La Grenouille up to? Revenge isn't his usual business."

"_Rene has been missing many months, Director," _Trent offered. _"The organization has been under new management, as it were. His heir has taken over operations. She, however, is not above revenge. Your people need to get rid of the bomb, even after it is disarmed. I do not see Bomb Disposal on site. Get them there with all due haste or your people will be killed. The external trigger to the woman and the child are decoys. The real timer is in the lining. Goodbye, Director."_

Jenny switched her phone over to dial Jethro while using her home line to telephone the bomb squad.

* * *

"Ziva, get that thing disarmed!" Gibbs ordered as his phone began to ring.

"_Jethro, it's Jenny,"_ Director Shepherd announced. _"I just received a telephone call from Trent Kort. He said that the bomb you're working on will still go off, even if you've detached the trigger wire. I don't care how but get rid of it."_

Ziva found the wire and snipped the trigger. She immediately slashed the vest open so that they could get Carrie and the baby out of it and inside where it was warm. The baby had decided that the finger she'd been working on was not giving her what she wanted and began wailing again for want of food and warmth. Tony handed the baby to Carrie and took ownership of the bomb.

"Ziva, split the lining and find the real timer," Gibbs ordered. "The outside was a decoy. Tony, Tim, get Carrie and the baby inside and down to the main level!"

Tim held the infant in one arm and Carrie by the waist with the other lifting her from her feet as he scrambled to get inside. She was very unsteady on her feet and sill looked as though she were only half aware of everything going on around her. He looked back to see that Tony was nowhere nearby and silently couldn't help but think that Gibbs was going to give him hell.

On the deck, Tony knelt by Ziva as she looked for the real trigger mechanism. "Thank you for getting Carrie and my daughter out of that thing," he whispered to her, pausing to kiss her on the cheek.

"DiNozzo! Get your ass inside!" Gibbs hollered.

"Boss..." Tony began but felt Gibbs grab him by the collar and stand him up. "Be careful."

Gibbs pulled the younger man toward the door and gave him a smack to motivate him. "Now, DiNozzo."

"Yes, Boss," Tony said, using his more subservient tone that he reserved only for when he knew he'd done something stupid and childish. This was not the time to argue for the point of arguing or disobeying Gibbs just to get him to notice.

Ziva wiped her brow of sweat and shook her hands loose as she looked for the timer. It took several fearful minutes before she located the point at which she could separate the timer and the explosives and not blow herself and Gibbs up. Her dark eyes looked almost lost of confidence when she found the wire and snipped it, making the explosives useless for their original purpose.

Gibbs grabbed Ziva and left the bomb on the scaffolding for the bomb squad to collect. After all, that was their job. Once they were back at the ground level, Gibbs found Tim and Tony but Carrie was no where to be found.

"She's in the bathroom, Boss," Tim said. "The drugs are starting to make her ill."

Gibbs went over to the bathroom and walked in, bracing the door behind him while he found Carrie retching into the toilet. "Bet you wish you'd stayed home now, aren't you?" he asked.

She stood up and went to the sink to rinse her mouth out. "Ya think, Gibbs?" she said, parroting one of his own familiar questions.

Gibbs smiled ever so slightly. "Let's get you home then. It's been a long night. We'll talk about you missing your deadline in the morning."


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizeable characters of NCIS.

* * *

**They returned to the house as the sun came up. They were all exhausted and in dire need of sleep before the trip back to DC and NCIS headquarters. Ziva and Tim made their way up to their rooms without hardly a word while Gibbs motioned for Tony and Carrie to follow him into the living room. 

"What the hell were you two thinking, taking drinks when you were supposed to be keeping an eye on your environment?"

Gibbs then pointed at Carrie. "And you were supposed to be in and right back out."

"I screwed up, Boss," Tony said. "I made a rookie mistake. I should have thought things through."

"But, it's an expected move when working these sorts of social circles," Carrie defended. "It's not like a frat party where you have to worry about who is handing you a drink. It was an error in judgment maybe but not one that was expected to be a problem. Besides, it was you who didn't want to alert anyone to a potential problem. Had we not taken the drinks, Al would have been suspicious. The first thing one does at an event like this is take a drink."

"So you're saying that it's my fault that you two got drugged and could have been killed?" Gibbs said, more than a little irritated at the suggestion.

"Of course not," Carrie said. "That fault lies entirely with the person who spiked the drinks. Your error was in not letting me use my contacts to our greater advantage. My mistake was in letting you convince me to wear that ugly ass dress so that I stuck out like a sore thumb to be grabbed. Tony's mistake was in not paying attention to who was giving us the drinks. I think that we all can learn something from this. I'll make sure the baby's sorted out for the trip before you all go. You can take the baby seat I have in the garage, and I'll make sure the diaper bag is ready. New York to DC is a long trip."

"You're going too. You two will stay at my house with the baby," Gibbs said. "Ducky will be able to keep an eye on you and the baby that way. We should have taken you to the hospital, Young Lady."

"I'm fine. Tired and nauseous but not enough to spend half a day in a hospital emergency room. I will be fine once I get some sleep," Carrie said. "Now may I go and take care of the baby?"

"Go," Gibbs said, motioning at the door as she walked out.

"Boss..." Tony began. "I'm sorry that I screwed up."

"I know you are, Tony," Gibbs said softly. "Go get some sleep. Unless you're looking for an ass beating?"

"Not me," Tony said, making his way up to his room as quickly as possible.

* * *

Tony pulled the covers over his head in protest of the sun peeking through the heavy curtains of his room. Memories of the previous night flooded his mind and he sat up and rubbed his hands over his face. He had a daughter. Jeanne gave her up without so much as a thought and wrote to tell him that it was all his fault she had to go through the inconvenience of a pregnancy. She enclosed a notarized letter relinquishing her parental rights and the information on the baby's birth date, time, weight, and length. He sat for a long while looking over the letter and trying to decide what to do.

He stood up and stretched. He shuffled down to the nursery where he remembered Carrie feeding and clothing the baby when they got back. When he opened the door, he found his cousin in the middle of a diaper change. He wondered how one little girl could make such a huge mess. Carrie looked up as she finished snapping up the sleeper. She looked as though she hadn't slept at all but she looked at the baby with such care and love that the lack of sleep almost disappeared.

"How do you hold onto those legs like that when she's kicking so much?" Tony asked approaching carefully.

"Good morning, Buzz," she said, picking up the swaddled bundle and bouncing her a little. "Good Afternoon, rather. Everyone's downstairs. Ziva and Tim will be starting back to DC in a bit. Would you like to hold your daughter?"

She held the baby out for him and Tony took her, entirely certain he would break her. "So, how did you learn to do that?" Tony asked again.

"I went to Mommy School," she replied. "I'm sure you'll be able to find a class when you get back to DC. Have you picked a name for her yet?"

"Well, we have to do DNA testing first to make sure she's mine, even though I know she is," Tony said. "Abby will be able to match it without any problems."

"She needs a name, Tony," Carrie said with a smile. "We can't just keep calling her 'Baby'."

"Well, she is a baby," Tony said. "But I was thinking, we have to talk. I can't raise a baby. Hell, I have enough trouble taking care of myself most days. My job keeps me away from home for days on end sometimes. I'm not equipped to be a father..."

"She needs a parent, Anthony John DiNozzo," Carrie scolded.

"Yeah, I know, but..." Tony began.

"Her mother's already abandoned her. She needs her father," Carrie continued, an exhausted, emotional edge to her voice.

"I know that too..." he tried to edge in a word.

"You've got a chance here to do something wonderful. A chance I would kill for, Tony. You can't think about turning your back on her now..."

Tony put his hand over her mouth to shut her up as he took a breath. "I'm trying to do what's best for her and what's best for her isn't having a part time father. You WANT to be a mother. You were ready to be a mother, Carrie."

Carrie's eyes swam with tears. "I'm not a mother though, Tony. I was going to be. My baby died. This isn't like getting a new puppy after your old dog dies."

Tony put the baby in the cradle and grabbed Carrie's arms, forcing her to look at him. He sat her down in a nearby rocking chair and knelt in front of her to meet her eye to eye. "I know that, Carrie. Believe me, I know that this baby isn't going to make you forget that you lost your little boy and I wouldn't want you to. When I walked in here, I saw something in you that I know would be in the best interest of my baby. What she needs more than anything else in this world is someone that loves her as much as you already do and would take pride in raising her to be a wonderful human being. I saw it on your face and you can't deny it. You want the baby for your own. I know you do."

"I may be jealous of your fortune and angry that my own was taken away but I don't want to take your baby from you, Tony," Carrie said, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Look me in the eye and tell me that you wouldn't make the better parent for her out of us," Tony said. "You know you can't because it's the truth. You will make a wonderful mother for her and you'll live your life for her. Just say the words, Chubs. 'I want to have the baby.'"

"I want the baby," Carrie whispered. "I want her more than you can know, but she's not mine to have."

"We can arrange the adoption privately," Tony said. "She will be your baby."

"Why don't you want her, Tony?" Carrie asked. "She's your daughter."

"I want what's absolutely best for her," Tony replied, meeting Carrie's eyes. "I want my daughter to have the best life imaginable and that leads me to you raising her. There was a time when I could see myself with Jeanne and the whole package: kids, dog, minivan... but that's not going to happen. When she left, she left me a note that said I needed to decide what I wanted. I did. I chose my family at NCIS over her. She hates me for not choosing her, even though she admits that I never would have found her anyway."

"Then you made the right choice, Buzz," Carrie said.

"And I'm making the right choice now. I know I am," Tony said. From the bassinet, they heard the baby making some squeaking noises. "See? She agrees."

Carrie laughed, even through her tears, as she picked up the baby, handing her off to Tony. "She still needs a name. I'll get a bottle ready."

Gibbs came in already with a warmed and ready bottle. "No need. Go to bed," he said, handing Tony the bottle and taking the young woman by the shoulder to point her in the direction of her bedroom and swatted her backside. "Now."

"All right, I'm going," Carrie said heading off.

"That is one stubborn woman," Gibbs said watching Tony as he tried to feed his daughter. "Good lord, Tony, you're going to gag her with the nipple. Here, let me show you. It's been a long time since I did this."

"I'm making the right decision," Tony said. "I don't even get how people can figure this out."

"By screwing it up a few times," Gibbs replied, feeding the baby. "No one is good at this automatically. Trust me, I know. You know she's right. The baby needs a name."

"I was thinking Katie," Tony said. "It seems right for her."

Gibbs smiled as he handed the baby back. "Ziva and Tim are taking the truck back. We'll leave in the morning. Carrie needs the rest."

"She'll appreciate it," Tony said, patting the baby's back. "We were lucky to have you looking out for us last night."

The baby let out a burp which caused Gibbs to chuckle as he ruffled Tony's hair. "Definitely your kid, DiNozzo."

* * *

**Author's Note: As always, I look forward to hearing from my readers with suggestions, comments, etc. You can PM me from my profile page where you can see what I do and don't do, if you have suggestions for a story. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my story and for all the folks who have put it on their alerts and have reviewed. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer and Notes: As always, Don't own 'em. Wish I did but I'll settle for this. **

**Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed my first story. I appreciate the feedback. For those who are interested, I'm currently running a poll on my author's page. Thank you again, and I hope you enjoy the final chapter of Family Reunion.

* * *

**Tony sat at his desk looking over the paperwork regarding the attempted statue bombing. There was very little to go on for finding La Grenouille. Homeland Security was rabid for their case files and Director Shepherd would have little choice but to accept their demands. 

Finally he threw his pen on his desk and stood up. "Going for coffee," he said simply, heading for the elevator. No sooner did he start moving, that Gibbs came down the stairs from the director's office. "If you're going out, you might as well stop off at the house and pick up Carrie. Fornell wants to have a follow up about the bomb. Wants to chat with all of us, actually."

"Why can't he read the statements?" Tony grumbled.

"Cause I'm covering my ass, DiNozzo," Fornell said, stepping out of the elevator and using his usual pronunciation of the younger man's double Z name as one would 'pizza'. "My Director is breathing down my neck for answers. Tell my man outside Gibbs' house to follow you."

"Pick her up, Tony," Gibbs nodded reassuringly.

"On it, Boss," Tony replied, obediently. He'd been fairly docile since their return a few days earlier but was growing increasingly irritable when asked about the case. Of course, in a few of his more unseemly moments, Gibbs had warned him that he was skating on thin ice which brought him back to docility.

"Be right back, Tobias," Gibbs said, following the younger man to the elevator. Once the door closed, Gibbs rested a hand on Tony's neck. "You okay?"

"No not really," Tony admitted. "I'm trying to get a handle of things but..."

Gibbs stopped the elevator and hugged the younger man. "I know, Son. Believe me, I know."

Tony allowed himself a moment of weakness and a few tears fell as he tried to hide his face with this hand. "I loved her, Gibbs. I tried to be so careful about being careful. I tried to protect both of us from... not that I'm unhappy about Katie, but I tried so hard to do the right thing and I still fucked it up. She blames me for what happened and in the end, nothing I did mattered."

Gibbs took Tony's face in his hands and made him look into the older man's eyes. "Listen to me, Tony. It did matter. You did the right things but you were played. You're taking a lot of responsibility that doesn't belong to you. You used protection when it mattered and from what I understand waited a long time. I worry about you maybe more than any of you kids because you're the one who doesn't do anything by halves."

"I messed up bad, Boss," Tony whispered.

"You didn't mess up so bad. In fact, I'm really proud in how you've managed yourself. Now, straighten up those shoulders and walk out of this elevator proud of the man you've become," Gibbs ordered. "You created a wonderful little girl and you've made Carrie a very happy mother. Don't discount what you have done and what you've done is pretty damn amazing."

Tony pulled himself up and stood proud as Gibbs started the elevator and swatted him out the door as it reached the lobby. "Thanks, Boss," Tony said as he headed out, feeling much lighter having been able to spew all of the things he'd been holding in.

Tim was busily typing while Ziva looked over his shoulder at the instant messaging between Abby and him on the office intranet.

_TMcGee: Gibbs said to leave Tony for him to deal with. You're playing with fire, Abby._

_ASciuto: It's a party, McGee. A get together isn't interfering. It's promoting solidarity. He NEEDS something to get his mind off everything that's happened. A few drinks and a relaxed atmosphere will help things feel normal again. Besides, I think Gibbs would appreciate us wanting to take care of Tony and make sure he's included in a party._

_TMcGee: Ziva's behind me, nodding. We'll be there. You going to ask Ducky and Palmer?_

_ASciuto: Yeah, I'm asking them now. Ducky says he'll be up right after he's finished with his latest guest. Jimmy too. _

_TMcGee: So, what do we need to bring? It's not like we can just walk in with a keg of beer and a cake past security._

_JShepherd: Never mind, that I can observe all communications myself and could say something about the misuse of interdepartmental services, Gibbs will nail your asses to the wall if he sees you I.Ming instead of working. Or at least his version of it which still won't be very good for anyone's ass._

_AScuito: Oh, hi, Director. We're trying to do something to cheer Tony up. All of my testing is run and I figured that doing something to promote a team's unity would be better than sitting down here doing nothing at all._

_JShepherd: You ought to take the rest of the afternoon off if there's nothing keeping you here, Abby. _

_TMcGee: Tony's going to be here with Carrie and the baby soon. We should include them too._

_JShepherd: Let me know when they get here. I'll clear it with Gibbs for you to take the afternoon off with Abby so you can help Abby set things up. _

_TMcGee: Yes, Ma'am._

Gibbs went back to the bullpen where Fornell was waiting as Tim flipped his screen to another program. Gibbs motioned for them to head for the conference room.

"Jesus, Gibbs, your team's being very secretive. What's going on?" Fornell asked.

"You tell me, Tobias," Gibbs said. "What's the word on La Grenouille? We're certain that The Frog was involved with the statue situation but I'll be damned if we can get any information on our favorite French arms dealer. Anything I should know about?"

"That's because NCIS was taken off the need to know list in regards to La Grenouille and you know why. Your Director was gunning too hard for him," Fornell said.

"What do I need to know, Tobias?" Gibbs asked.

"This goes no further than between the two of us but La Grenouille's body was fished out of the harbor about six months ago. He was shot in the head and while there was no direct evidence to connect Director Shepherd to the crime... well, suspicion is all it takes isn't it?" Fornell offered.

"Well, who's playing Frogman now?" Gibbs wondered.

"No idea. An associate, perhaps. My clearance isn't even high enough for this. Though we do have it on authority that there will be no more action taken against Mrs. Bensen and DiNozzo's baby. Are you sure it's his, Gibbs? I thought the world was full enough with one of him around. God knows what will happen with the fruit of his loins running around."

Gibbs gave him a half smile. "He's a good kid, Tobias. If I can get you a name and a face of a potential replacement, can you lay off Tony and list him as his cousin just as victims of this whole thing?"

"You're willing to go to the mat for the boy, even though he appears to live to cause you trouble? What was it all about?" Tobias leaned forward. "Are you able to get a name and a face, Jethro?"

"Revenge against him for doing the Director's undercover operation," Gibbs said. "And yeah, I can. Look, he's been punished more than enough for what he's done, and that's before I even had a crack at him."

"I'll take your word for it, Gibbs," Fornell said. "I know you look after your own. I'll make the follow up as cursory as possible. Still got Mrs. Bensen under lock and key?"

"Not quite. She's staying at my place while some of the particulars are being taken care of. Referred her to Mel Berg to take care of her divorce."

"Good man. He kept Diane from wiping us out, didn't he?" Fornell agreed.

There was a knock on the door as Director Shepherd walked in. "Well, this is very cozy. Jethro, I thought I'd let you know that Tony is here with his cousin, Carrie and the baby. They're waiting for Agent Fornell as requested. Just to let you know, I asked Tim if he could assist Abby with some things in her lab."

"Is Abby okay?" Gibbs asked.

"She's fine, Gibbs. Just needing a hand with a computer problem," Jen said. "Now if you want to release Agent Fornell so he can do his job, everything will be perfect."

Fornell stepped out while Gibbs hung back with the Director.

"Something you want to say, Agent Gibbs?" Jenny asked.

"Nope, just wanted to let you know that my senior field agent is a head case thanks to you," Gibbs growled softly.

"Is he unfit for duty?" she asked, staring Gibbs in the eyes, defiantly.

"Unfit to take on any more of your dirty work, Director. Just fine for duty."

"Understood, _Agent_ Gibbs," Jenny replied. "He wasn't meant to get so deeply involved."

"That's crap, Jen, and you know it. You chose the boy because he would get involved," Gibbs said. "If you were still on my team, I'd have taken you to task just as I do my team now."

"I'm not on your team. I'm your boss," Jenny replied. "You aren't in charge of me, Jethro."

"I'm not sure I ever was," Gibbs answered.

"Go look after your team, Gibbs," Jenny said.

Fornell kept his word and made the follow up interviews as cursory as possible and managed to assure Tony and Carrie that they would be considered victims of a terrible circumstance and unofficially let them know that Carrie and the baby would be safe.

"Is there anything else either of you would like to add to your statements?" Fornell asked. "Anything that you may have remembered that didn't seem relevant before. Some of your statements were a little vague."

"We were drugged, Fornell," Tony drawled sarcastically. "Not exactly the prime condition for remembering details."

"I'm sorry, Agent Fornell," Carrie interrupted. "I was barely conscious even when I was slung out on the statue with the baby."

"Yes, and DNA has concluded that she is actually yours, DiNozzo," Fornell said. "Congratulations."

"Thanks, but she's Carrie's baby now. It's what's best for Katie." Tony offered.

Fornell nodded. "God only knows what you would teach a little girl, DiNozzo. Thanks for your confirmation and good luck to both of you. Call me if anything else comes to mind and I can get a hold of you at Gibbs' house?"

"For the next couple of days," Tony offered.

"I'm sure he just wants to make sure you kids are safe," Fornell said quietly so that only Tony and Carrie could hear.

"We're not children, Agent Fornell," Carrie said, lifting the baby from her carrier.

"He thinks you are. His kids, anyway, and I wouldn't bother trying to change Gibbs' mind about it," Fornell said, standing. "Thanks for your time."

The Director walked into the bullpen. "If you're done, I'd like you all to come down to the lab with me. Abby has something to show all of you."

Carrie stood and started to pick up the carrier and diaper bag as Tony shooed her away, picking them up so that she could keep both hands on the baby. "You have Katie."

"She's a real cutie," Jenny said. "How old now?"

"Six days," Carrie said. "Not exactly old enough to be out on the town, but we didn't have much choice."

Abby's lab erupted into cheers of applause and congratulations as they walked in.

"Oh, look how tiny she is!" Abby cooed. "Can I hold her?"

Carrie handed Abby the baby as Tim stepped next to Tony. "Congrats on having survived another hell of a case, Tony," he said warmly."

"Thanks," Tony answered, quietly.

"Glad we didn't have to break into Gibbs' house to kidnap you," Tim said. "Not that we wouldn't have done it..."

"Only once, McGee," Gibbs said, with a half grin. "Of course, you could have just asked if you wanted to throw a surprise party at my house."

"Hey! Why don't we move the party to Gibbs' then?" Abby suggested, bouncing with the baby.

Before anyone could disagree, the entire party was transported to Gibbs' living room where Katie was being passed around to her plethora of new aunts and uncles while they laughed and talked. Tony stood in the doorway of Gibbs' living room and watched everyone gathered. Gibbs handed him a beer.

"Feeling better?" Gibbs asked, putting a hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"Yeah. Not perfect, but a whole lot better, Boss. Seeing the whole family together helps. Thanks." Tony replied. "It's nice to have a whole family again."

"So what are you doing standing out here?" Gibbs asked. "Get on in there with everyone else."

Tony found a spot next to Carrie as he took Katie to make faces at her. There was a relaxed feeling of warmth and a sense of belonging that he thought that he might have lost after everything with the undercover work. He quickly realized that the ties to this family weren't so easily severed.

Gibbs stood behind the chair where Ducky was sitting and watched over everyone with a smile. For a moment, he could imagine Shannon standing behind Tony, looking at the baby and Kelly playing in the room, being coddled by all of them. For now, his family was together, just as it ought to be.


End file.
